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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29513631">Cold Skin, Warm Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peaches_07/pseuds/Peaches_07'>Peaches_07</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:01:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29513631</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peaches_07/pseuds/Peaches_07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Unbeknownst to everyone, an akuma places a frozen curse on Ladybug. This causes Marinette to start freezing to death during the night. Since her parents are gone for the week, Tikki's only solution is to get Adrien/Chat. It's up to him to thaw out Marinette with the only option he could think of: Cuddles.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>238</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cold Skin, Warm Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>They are both seventeen and I wrote this with the knowledge that Fu had his memories erased and all that so Tikki couldn't go to him for help. Thank you for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This akuma was different from the others. It has been the longest akuma to track down and by far the hardest to capture. The story on why he was turned still remained a mystery to Ladybug and Chat Noir but it was no secret that the pair was struggling.</p><p>Even with four years of experience under their belts, they couldn’t get a handle on the fight. Ladybug has called on her lucky charm twice but neither seemed to put a dent in the villain’s progression. There were a couple close calls and the superheroes could only hold their breaths.</p><p>Ladybug wanted nothing more than to track down and demand help from Fu. But he wasn’t in the city anymore. He hadn’t been in Paris for a couple of years now, Ladybug somberly mused. Ever since he promoted her to the new guardian back when she was fifteen, he couldn’t be the answer to her troubles anymore. No matter how bad it got.</p><p>“Ladybug look out!” Chat leapt over to his partner who had stumbled her way blindly into a trap. He grabbed her around the waist and flung both bodies out of danger. Their exhaustion was making them both equally reckless and messy much to their demise. Chat growled on top of her and jumped to his feet, twirling his baton around threateningly.</p><p>Ladybug groaned and hoisted herself on tired legs. Her partner’s belt tail lashed out in irritation behind him at the akuma who wouldn’t stay in one place. It was annoying both superheroes.</p><p>This akuma, or <em>Takeback </em>as he rudley reminded Paris every couple of minutes, was similar to Viperion in his powers. However, unlike the superhero, this akuma could use his stopwatch to travel through time. And not only travel, but he could freeze it and encase the moment in a sheen layer of ice. Takeback would yell out that he was capturing the moment, frozen in time for all eternity. Every street in Paris was frozen in another time zone with people and places ice-bound in time.</p><p>Ladybug and Chat Noir deduced that the akuma was located in the stopwatch around his neck and the button controlled when and where Takeback would travel to. But everytime they got close enough to destroy it, he would shift somewhere else in time and would most likely pop back up on the other side of the city.</p><p>This had been a tiring and challenging day of cat and mouse and both superheroes wanted nothing more than to call it quits. But they wouldn’t and they would find a way to revert everything back to normal because they always did. Paris needed them.</p><p>And it wasn’t until much later into the night that they eventually found a way to beat Takeback at his own game. Her next lucky charm (she lost count of how many she had used by that point) finally worked and all was set back to normal For the most part. They underestimated just how powerful Hawkmoth was becoming.</p><p>Because of their weary selves, they miscalculated Takeback’s final blow which shot straight for Ladybug. His cold breath fanned in front of his face as he smirked and said, “Ladybugs hate the cold.” Her reaction time wasn’t what it used to be and she couldn’t dodge the hit. The blast of frost plunged into her chest and the wind was knocked out of her as she sank to her knees.</p><p>Ladybug could faintly make out Chat’s cataclysm over the stopwatch, effectively breaking it into pieces. She had to shake her head to clear away any last shock and robotically cleansed the butterfly, releasing it and throwing her lucky charm in the air to fix everything. The minute everything was back in place and Paris was running like it wasn’t just frozen in time, Chat bounded over to Ladybug, cupping her face.</p><p>“Are you okay?” He was firmly checking her over and Ladybug sighed getting ready to sooth her partner’s frantic worrying.</p><p>“I’m fine, Chaton. Just tired.” She gave him a smile, fist up and ready to confirm their victory.</p><p>He gave her an unbelieving twitch of his cat ears but matched it with his own lopsided grin. “If you need me, just me know.”</p><p>They parted ways after that to two very much welcomed beds.</p><p>~~~~~~~</p><p>It was in the middle of the night when she woke up in search of a hoodie. It was an hour after that when she changed out of her shorts and into longer pants with some fuzzy socks. It wasn’t long after that when she grabbed another blanket. Each time her body woke up, she felt colder than she had previously felt.</p><p>Shivers raked up and down her spine and the goosebumps were relentless on her skin. Teeth chattering, she called for Tikki. Her Kwamii’s tired eyes shot open in shock as she took in her chosen’s condition.</p><p>“I don’t know...Tikki, I can’t warm up.” Marinette’s breath could be seen in the darkness of her room as she huddled underneath her blankets and comforter despite the room itself not being cold.</p><p>Tikki nuzzled her cheek but pulled back in surprise at the lack of warmth. “Marinette?” But the bluenette didn’t respond. She had fallen back into a fitful slumber. Tikki had taken to observing the poor girl through each whimper and body shake helpless to do anything.</p><p>The next time Marinette woke up, she was delirious with glossy blue eyes. “T-Tikki...something’s wrong…” her lips were starting to take on a soft blue when Tikki made up her mind. She raced out into the brisk night air and whisked her way frantically over to the only option she had: The Agreste Manor. And more specifically Adrien’s room.</p><p>She phased through the window into the unlit room. She caught sight of Plagg’s dark figure resting comfortably on the white pillow, curled up with small snores. Tikki let out a sigh of relief as she focused her attention on the blonde boy beside him. He laid on his stomach, happily sprawled out. His cheek laid on his own pillow, lashes fluttering against his cheeks every few seconds as he peacefully donned on in his slumber.</p><p>Tikki almost felt bad waking them up but the images of a shivering and helpless Marinette snapped her out of any guilt. “Plagg! Plagg wake up!” She took to shaking her other half into a grumpy mess of a cat.</p><p>“Tikki? Can it wait until morning? I’m tired.” Plagg mumbled sleepily not bothering to hide his yawn.</p><p>“Plagg this is important!” Tikki was desperate and moved on to the next male. “Adrien! Adrien, wake up!” Her eyes were wide and distraught at picturing Marinette’s guaranteed worsening state.</p><p>He groggily opened his eyes and slowly looked around before he noticed Tikki. Brows furrowed for a moment before his green eyes bulged and took in her fearful gaze.</p><p>“Tikki? What’s going-” he didn’t finish his sentence before Tikki was worriedly explaining her appearance.</p><p>“It’s Ladybug! Something’s wrong!”</p><p>There was a short moment where everything stilled in his room, Plagg perking up at what Tikki had mentioned. Only a few seconds passed before everything spiraled into chaos.</p><p>Adrien wasted no time in flinging his bedsheets off and running into his closet for a shirt. He stumbled out of the closet over his own feet, struggling to pull on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers. He popped a mint and grabbed his phone from the bedside table.</p><p>Tikki gasped, “Take a sweatshirt!” He shot her a confused look but snagged one of his sweatshirts anyways, throwing it on frantically. Plagg had just finished gulping down his camembert for extra energy when Adrien called for his transformation. The night air was chilly but he ignored it as he followed Ladybug’s Kwamii out of his window.</p><p>“What’s wrong with her Tikki!” He managed to ask despite the quick pace they were running at. He wanted to be at least prepared before he barged in at the scene.</p><p>Tikki looked over at him. “She can’t warm up! I think it’s from Takeback, when he shot her. She’s so...cold.”</p><p>Chat’s heart sank in unease. That’s why Tikki had demanded he bring his sweatshirt. He vaulted across the rooftops of Paris in a nimble run to get to Ladybug. He never stopped to ponder about the identity reveal until he recognized the part of the city that they were headed in. All of his suspicions concerning his partner’s identity were confirmed as he bounded towards her house in a new found sprint.</p><p>Adrenaline pumped through him and he could hear his heart racing. He prayed and hoped that she would be alright. He gasped in both joy and dread as Tikki led him straight onto her balcony. The same balcony he visited whenever he needed someone to talk to or hang out with. Someone who would play video games with him and share junk food that his dieticians would shake their head at, if they ever found out at least.</p><p>He swallowed his elated feelings down as he peered at her stressed Kwamii. There were more pressing matters that needed to be dealt with right now. The fact that he was entering the Dupain-Cheng bakery for his Ladybug could be visited again at a later time.</p><p>He nodded to Tikki with a reassuring glint in his eye. He opened the hatch and dropped down onto the bed expecting to find Marinette curled up. But the bed was empty and the sheets and blankets lacked their presence too. His heart was pounding against his rib cage in panic as he listened for her. His cat ears twitched and rotated trying to locate her. His night vision kicked into gear and he scanned the room.</p><p>He jumped off of her loft and saw the trapdoor open. Tikki flew forward and down the stairs, Chat hot on her heels. He heard Tikki mutter something about her parents being away for the week but Chat wasn’t paying attention to her. His ears shot forward as he heard a soft whimper come from the kitchen. He practically ran on air in a hurry to get to where Marinette was.</p><p>He let out a startled whine himself when he finally caught sight of her. She was leaning against the cabinets on the floor, knees balled up to her chest. Her whole body was trembling in shivers and her fingers were covering her blue lips. Her complexion was deathly pale and her eyes were hollow with drowsiness. She looked like warmth had been sucked out of her.</p><p>He lunged towards her balled up figure and scooped her into his lap, tucking her head under his chin. He felt her snuggle closer for the body warmth that he naturally provided. His one arm wrapped around her waist to lightly rub her skin while his other hand gently started to stroke her cheek in a desperate attempt to get her blood flowing. Her teeth were chattering and the low moans that would escape her would pierce his heart.</p><p>Tikki settled herself on his shoulder and she looked on in worry. He had started to rock marinette in attempts to get her blood pumping even more but was quickly realizing that besides holding, he had no idea what to do. If this really was from Takeback’s final blow, wouldn’t her lucky charm have healed her?</p><p>“Tikki, is there a fireplace?” Tikki’s eyes widened and she raced off to check. She came rushing back in with excitement. “Yes! In the living room.”</p><p>He nodded and gently gathered the freezing girl securely in his arms as he stood up. He walked her over to the couch and laid her down, Marinette curling into a ball at the sudden loss of body heat. He hesitantly drew away from her at the sounds of her low cries to start the fire. “You said something about her parents being away right Tikki?” He got a nod of confirmation to which he grit his teeth.</p><p>He wanted nothing more than to have a parental figure tell him what to do to help Marinette.</p><p>He started to get the electric fire going by flicking the switch on. The room erupted in soft glows as the fire got to work on the logs. He jogged back to the kitchen to move the kettle onto the stove for hot tea. He saw his mother do this for him when he was little and sick and he hoped this might help her in some way.</p><p>While it was heating up, he bundled the remaining blankets in his grasp and raced back to Marinette. She had fallen back into a fitful sleep as he draped the blankets over her. He considered dropping his transformation but he wanted to be able to listen for Marinette while he was in the kitchen.</p><p>It felt like eternity later even though he knew it only had to be a couple of minutes, when the water in the kettle was hot enough to brew the tea bag. He grabbed the first mug he saw and doctored her drink up. He didn’t even know if she liked tea but he was relatively panicking right now.</p><p>Chat eventually found himself standing beside the couch with the mug of tea placed on the coffee table in front of it. He gingerly helped Marinette into a sitting position before he urged her to sip on the hot beverage. She didn’t drink it so much as just held it but he wouldn’t say anything.</p><p>He eventually released Plagg from the ring as he situated himself beside his lady. Adrien restlessly put the mug of tea on the floor after she stopped attempting to drink it before he grabbed her from around the waist and drew her into him. He carefully laid both of them on the couch, Marinette curling into his chest as he adjusted his head on the pillow comfortably.</p><p>He modified the blankets to bundle both the people in the cocoon of heat. Adrien gently ran his hand under her shirt and sweatshirt and over her spine. His other hand came up to delicately run his fingers through her hair. The tip of her cold nose naturally ran alongside his neck seeking out his body heat which granted a shiver himself but not from the cold.</p><p>It took a long time - far longer than he would have liked - but she eventually settled down into a content sleep and her body was gradually thawing to a healthier temperature. He never once let go of her cuddled form and willed himself to stay awake to make sure she didn’t relapse on her near hypothermia.</p><p>Only when they were both swathed in heat and dripping with sweat did he start stripping the blankets to ensure no fevers from either person. It would be his luck that she would go from one extreme to the other.</p><p>He asked Tikki to find a thermometer so he could better keep an eye on her temperature. He only started to breathe normally again when she was back at a constant 36 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit).</p><p>The clock on the wall said it was around 6 in the morning and the weight of his eyelids could confirm that the adrenaline he was running on all night was almost out. One more look over of the sleeping female in his arms had him falling into a deep sleep himself.</p><p>~~~~~~~</p><p>The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the shifting weight on his chest. The next thing that registered in his mind was the consistent patter of rain on the roof. The last thing he came to observe from his drowsy state, was the finger that was tracing his face’s features. The finger made its way down his temple and over his cheek bone. It traced his lips and jawline and the tickle elicited a small purr from his chest to both of their surprises.</p><p>The finger retracted with a small gasp from the girl. His hand never left the small of her back and he ran his own fingers over her spine one last time before he retracted his own hand away from her. He opened his eyes and smiled at Marinette who’s blue eyes were wide and face flushed a deep red.</p><p>He chuckled which only seemed to darken her cheeks and tips of her ears. He brought his hand up and cupped her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.</p><p>“Good morning, My Lady.” She squeaked and abruptly sat up. The blanket fell away from her as she sat poised in front of him. He slowly sat up himself, already missed her in his arms. Her hands were on her mouth and she stared incredulously at him.</p><p>“Why - why are you...um or how...I’m not...<em>Chat</em>?” She was in disbelief of what was happening. He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. He reached for one of her hands and squeezed reassuringly.</p><p>“You were so cold Marinette.” His voice was soft and he hoped he had masked how scared he had been. It wasn’t necessarily her fault after all. “Your temperature was insanely low and-” he had to clear his throat. The mix of his deep, sleepy morning voice and the way he was thrown back into last night’s terror was a lot. “Tikki thinks it was the hit from Takeback. We’re just not sure why the magical ladybugs didn’t heal you.”</p><p>His voice got caught in his throat again and Marinette must have noticed because she warily relaxed. Her shoulders dropped away from her ears and she uncurled herself. The lip biting and shy eyes told Adrien that she remembered last night. Or some of it at least.</p><p>He sat a little straighter as she rubbed her arms in comfort. “Thank you.” She said gingerly.</p><p>He flashed her a grin and moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Hey, there’s no need to thank me. You know I’d do anything for you. Spots or no spots.”</p><p>He nervously tugged her wrist in longing and she hesitantly crawled back into his lap, both people seeking comfort. He wrapped his arms around her waist again and left a quick kiss to her hair. She tucked her head underneath his chin and he took to running his fingers over her back again.</p><p>She yawned and said, “Can we make pancakes?”</p><p>He chuckled and looked at her fondly. “I’d give you the world if you asked for it.”</p><p>Her nose crinkled and she waved her hand in the sassy way he’s come to love. “Yeah we can get to that later. I want pancakes first.”</p><p>His eyes filled with humor and he dramatically sighed. “You almost die on me and the first thing you say is, ’<em>can we make pancakes</em>’.”</p><p>She rolled her eyes at him. “My apologies, Chaton. I’ll rephrase that. <em>I’m </em>going to go make pancakes. You can come with me if you want. Is that better?”</p><p>He poked her side which elicited a yelp from her and inflamed her cheeks. He snickered and tightened his hold on her even as she squirmed in embarrassment. “I’d follow you to the ends of the Earth, Bug.”</p><p>She threw her hands in the air dramatically before wrapping them around his neck to tangle them in his soft hair. “Oh my gosh you are so cheesy! I just want pancakes. Go make me pancakes!”</p><p>He smiled at her as they both laughed. She was both bossy and shy and he loved it. Kind and confident and smart. She was Ladybug but she was Marinette too and he loved her all the same. He would follow her wherever she went without hesitation and he would bring her blankets or pancakes and anything else she ever needed or wanted.</p><p>Because even when she was the coldest she might ever be, she was Adrien’s fire and burning desire. And if he ever had to again, he saw no flaw in having to cuddle her into eternity.</p><p>Her stomach growling had him on his feet and determinedly ready to make her some pancakes. Even though he had no idea what he was doing. But there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.</p><p>Except maybe make pancakes that weren’t burnt.</p>
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